Is anything sustainable in this impermanent world in which we live? Yes. Growing our hinterland of thinking is the one key element to success in life. I am not talking about material success. I am referring to success as living with contentment and love and laughter and enjoying what we do and who we are. I want St Jude’s to deliver dreamers. Our world needs dreamers. And dreamers are not only the ones who want to break the ties that bind them to their physical reality, but they are the people who can imagine another space, or time, or way of being.
The modern world, so intent on describing everything and measuring it in minuscule terms, I think has gone horribly askew! We need to shift our thinking away from using check boxes and trite statements. We need to shift our gaze to the hearts and minds of those whom we seek to educate. We have to recognise that sustainability, itself, a big, but somewhat non-descript word, must not cloud our awareness. I want our children to understand themselves and become habitual imaginers, able to create a reality out of precious little. It will be in their understanding of themselves and the lives they create for themselves, that we will find the true, sustained, impact of our work here.
Since coming to St Jude’s from South Africa three months ago, I am convinced that our measure of sustainability will be best seen if our children at St Jude’s become avid readers. Readers of novels, fiction! If we can expose small children to make-believe, fantasy and fiction, we give them the opportunity to construct something in their minds out of words on a page. Holding a book, even when my arthritic hands get sore, is still a reminder, especially when the book is wonderful, of the gravitas of a good book. I have just finished reading a wonderful biography of a movie director. I have never seen any of his films, but I feel now that I know him and in fact, feel that I have seen his movies. All of this, from reading his words.
The modern world thinks that sustainability must be measured, but the crucial indicator of success will be visible in those of our students who not only read, but who love to read. Reading for the pure pleasure of it, will be a true test of St Jude’s impact and sustainability. If one has to use the infamous checklist, then it should have one statement: “The children who went through St Jude’s love to read.” Nothing more and nothing less.
If education is to lift our children out of poverty, it means they need to imagine another world. How can they imagine another world, another feeling that they do not know, if they do not build their imagination? How can they build their imagination? By reading! It is so very simple. It sounds a bit like a cliché, but it is most certainly so that readers become leaders. And, any really good leader, is almost certainly going to be an avid reader.
It is something of a litmus test. We have seen this time and time again. Reading deposes despair, nurtures grace and strengthens our souls. I want our kids to value their silent space, even amidst the loud chatter and noise of the market and the spaza shop. I want them to put reading before movies. I want them to seek out books to read. I will live with their reading kindles. But I will be overjoyed if they read books.
I want St Jude’s descendants to feel that warm glow of having a book and a space, even if it is on a cramped bus seat, that is wholly theirs, and into which they can escape.
If our St Jude’s students are avid readers, we will have succeeded in putting into Arusha, a sustainable life-giving force. Somebody once said that we read to know we are not alone. We will not only all be alone and very lonely, but we will rapidly lose our humanity, if we do not hold tight onto the reading thread, fragile though it may be.
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Amani started at St Jude’s in 2005 when he was 10 years old. Throughout his schooling, he was well-respected by staff and students alike, and although he graduated from Form 6 in 2016, and moved to Zimbabwe for university last year, he has continued to inspire his classmates and younger students.
Amani is a shining example of how St Jude’s academic scholarships change lives.
Raised in a local orphanage, Amani grew up with many other children and thought, for a while, he might like to become a teacher because he enjoyed passing on skills and techniques he learnt from excellent staff at St Jude’s.
“The teachers at St Jude’s did more for us than most teacher’s in Tanzania. Learning well requires more than just having a book and resources, you also need strategies,” Amani reflected.
As Amani grew, he found his niche in science and mathematics subjects and has decided he would best contribute to society by becoming a medical practitioner in Tanzania.
“Tanzania requires excellence in the medical field and this way I will help people in great need. My dream is to open my own medical laboratory and create employment for people.”
Amani is well on his way to achieving the dream. He graduated from secondary school and earned a scholarship through the School’s partnership with the MasterCard Foundations Scholars at African Leadership Academy, which has enabled him to study a Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science at Africa University in Zimbabwe.
Prior to beginning his university course, Amani participated in Beyond St Jude’s Community Service Year as an intern in our Beyond St Jude’s team. This valuable experience empowered him to demonstrate independence and work ethic.
“University is different from school, but St Jude’s made me feel prepared. They taught us always to be humble, but proud and because of that, I am so proud of who I have become. I am lucky to have many friends and they encouraged me to apply for university student elections, but I want to focus on my studies and just lead by my own example,” Amani said.
With wisdom beyond his 23 years, Amani is eager to use his knowledge to help others in need. In his summer break, Amani has returned to Tanzania to complete a Community Action Project for his university scholarship and is voluntarily teaching academic techniques, like those he learnt at St Jude’s, to children living in Arusha’s orphanages.
“We must respect everybody, whether they are older than us or not. People are equal and these children are my younger brothers and sisters. I would like to teach these children self-discipline so they can work hard and reach success, and be proud of themselves too. St Jude’s taught me that. I am so happy when I teach them because we all learn from each other,” he shared.
Amani recalls his Form 6 Graduation ceremony whenever he is looking to find inspiration and motivation.
“I could never have dreamed of going to university before I came to St Jude’s. I was just focused on getting to secondary school. Then I realised on the day of Form 6 Graduation that my dream was coming true."
“I felt so happy on Graduation Day. My sponsors came to the ceremony with my uncle. I felt like I had gone from having no parents, to having many! My sponsors were so familiar to me. They always wrote to me and gave me words of encouragement. I felt complete when I met them,” he smiled.
“I remember I was interviewed one day at school, and I said I wanted to grow up and be a good citizen and be able to financially support myself so I could give back. That is the big dream still.”
Amani’s almost there. In just a few years, he will graduate into a profession that will potentially see him helping thousands of Tanzanians. Supporters from around the world, who take our students hands, help them rise to meet their goals.
Give us your hand and sponsor an academic scholarship for the next young Amani!
Amanda signed up to sponsor an academic scholarship with St Jude’s in 2009. Almost a decade later, she and her mother, Jenny, made the long journey from Australia to Tanzania to support Form 6 graduate, Dainess, on Graduation Day last month.
Amanda and Jenny have been so impressed by St Jude’s sponsorship scheme, and excited by Graduation Week, that they decided to sponsor another student together, Glory, who is currently in Form 3 at Smith Secondary Campus.
“I have always believed in the adage that if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”
“Gemma’s story really resonated with me because I come from a teaching background. I was, and still am, a firm believer in the power of education to transform lives. The joy of making a difference to a stranger halfway around the world, and the great expectation and desire to one day meet them in person… it’s been a goal many years in the making,” Amanda said.
“Mum always used to say, ‘you have no control over which house you are born into.’ As a baby, no one chooses their family’s economic situation, so I think it is especially important to sponsor the most disadvantaged children, as is the St Jude’s path,” she said.
“The best part of being a sponsor with St Jude’s is writing to and receiving letters from your sponsor student. Dainess said she hoped and prayed I would come to visit her. To cry and laugh and smile with her, and finally meet the student’s family with whom you share a common bond, is life changing.”
Amanda and Jenny’s visit took a heartwarming turn on their final day at St Jude’s, when they had the impromptu opportunity to surprise their newly sponsored student, Glory, at one of her football matches.
“It was such a special encounter. Mum in particular was affected, knowing this may be the only opportunity she’ll have to meet Glory, since she may not be able to travel back in three years for her Form 6 graduation,” Amanda said.
Having started Dainess on the path to a bright future nine years ago, Amanda is now settled back with her family in Queensland after a whirlwind visit, but her journey with St Jude’s is far from over.
“Some of my friends who read all my happy social media posts about St Jude’s and Graduation Day were also moved and wanted to know how to sponsor. So, I have suggested we co-sponsor some female students next year and make it our goal to travel over for their Form 6 graduation,” she excitedly shared.
“That’s the thing about St Jude’s. Once you start sponsoring, and especially when you visit, it gets under your skin and weaves its way into your heart.”
Weave a thread in St Jude’s rich tapestry and join thousands of international sponsors and donors, who make it possible for 1,800 students to break the cycle of poverty. Our Annual Appeal runs until June 30 - donate or sponsor before then to have your contribution matched!
Sebastian earned his academic scholarship to St Jude’s at the end of 2013 and started in Preparatory class at Sisia Primary Campus the following year, eager to learn and participate. In four years, he has gone from strength to strength, thanks to his Australian sponsors, and many generous donors who go the extra mile to support students with additional needs, through St Jude’s Medical and Welfare Fund.
Sebastian, 11 years old, was born with albinism and nystagmus, an associated eye condition that impairs Sebastian’s ability to see or read as easily as his classmates.
However, the exceptional young student refuses to be diminished by his medical conditions. In fact, he is one of St Jude’s best-performing students in Standard 4, regularly achieving all A and B grades in each of his nine subjects.
Currently, the nation does not have sufficient resources to support all children like Sebastian.
There is one doctor per approximately 32,500 people in Tanzania, according to Global Health Action. It is estimated that one Tanzanian child out of 1,400 births will be born with albinism.
Although the odds were once stacked against Sebastian, his gift of a high quality education at St Jude’s means he is leaping towards a successful future.
People with albinism are at risk of stigmatisation, cruelty and violence in Tanzania due to cultural and spiritual beliefs that their hair, skin and body parts contain magical powers, or that they are ghosts of European colonists.
At St Jude’s, Sebastian is kept safe from potential harm and his peers are educated and supportive of him.
“My best friend is Joshua in my class. We enjoy playing at lunch time and telling jokes on the school bus. Sometimes I am even able to help him if he needs extra help with school work!” Sebastian shared.
St Jude’s Community Relations Manager, Charlotte, oversees the welfare of all students across our primary and secondary campuses. Each day, she communicates with Sebastian to ensure he is content and healthy.
“If Sebastian were in Australia, I believe he would be considered legally blind, because he cannot see the blackboard even if he sits at the front of the class. To address this issue, the Rotary Club of Brisbane High Rise donated an iPad to the School, after they met Sebastian during a 2015 visit to the School from members of this Rotary club,” Charlotte explained.
“In 2014 when I started Standard 1, I did not have an iPad and it was hard to learn. With my iPad, I can just take a photograph of the blackboard and zoom in as much as I need to, which makes it much easier,” Sebastian added.
“Every day in the afternoon, Sebastian drops off his iPad to St Jude’s Business Office to be recharged overnight. He collects it from the office in the morning before school. This works well because we can ask him how he is doing and we can help him to clean his eyeglasses.”
“Our Medical and Welfare fund helps us to pay for students like Sebastian to receive glasses. Every year, we take him for eye testing in case his prescription has changed and we can get him a new pair,” Charlotte said.
Beyond providing visual aids and classroom support for Sebastian, he also receives additional care during annual Medical Checks every March.
Three of Sebastian’s sponsors are medical professionals, two of whom lead St Jude’s annual Medical Check team.
“I loved seeing Doctor Pip and Doctor Craig in March. They brought me my favourite book. It is called My Secret Book of Rules. I really love it!” Sebastian said.
Given Sebastian’s admiration for all his sponsors and ongoing support from compassionate medical professionals in Tanzania, his dream job comes as no surprise.
“I want to become a doctor when I grow up. I dream to help a lot of people,” Sebastian said.
Sebastian will be able to help many people in the future, and it is thanks to donors and supporters from around the world. Donate today to St Jude’s Medical and Welfare Fund to give our most vulnerable students some additional care.
When St Jude’s Founder, Gemma Sisia, wrote Alex Elifas’ introductory letter to his sponsor in 2003, she already suspected his future was going to be bright.
“I think we will be rewarded in years to come, as I have a feeling Alex wants to go VERY far with his education!” Gemma predicted.
She wasn’t wrong. Alex has gone very far…all the way to Stanford University on a full scholarship, in fact! Stanford University is the second top-ranked university in the United States.
The prestigious college has educated thousands of influential historical figures, including Nobel laureates and United States presidential candidates.
Alex may have aimed high and landed among the stars, but he has never lost connection to his Tanzanian homeland and The School of St Jude.
Alex has brought his St Jude’s journey full circle by becoming our very first graduate to sponsor an academic scholarship for one of our students!
“I decided to become a sponsor in November 2017. After I graduated from St Jude’s, I signed up to Gemma’s newsletter list. Now and then, I’d visit the School’s website and see what was happening but this day was different. I was on the website and had begun thinking about how St Jude’s changed my life.”
“Ever since I was a child, I knew I wanted to give back to the School when I became successful, but then I remembered there were high school students in Australia who sponsored St Jude’s scholarships,” Alex said.
“I am working whilst completing my studies, so there’s no time like the present to start giving back. I am already successful – I don’t need to wait until I become a doctor.”
Alex shares sponsorship for Standard 3 student, Abie, who, like Alex, enjoys studying mathematics and sciences. “I loved receiving my first sponsorship letter from Abie. It reminded me of times I used to write to my sponsor,” Alex fondly recalls.
Alex will be visiting St Jude’s in July, when he is back home for his summer break, and is looking forward to meeting Abie in person.
“The best advice I will give him is to study hard. We come from the same place and similar backgrounds. I never knew that studying hard would pay off the way it has for me,” Alex said.
Alex is grateful to many St Jude’s teachers who instilled in him positive core beliefs and encouraged him to pursue his dreams.
“Mr Mcharo [Acting Secondary Headmaster] was my neighbour. He used to walk home with me sometimes and once, he told me I would become one of the best students in the country. He saw my potential.”
Another person Alex admires is Gemma Sisia, without whom, a free, high quality education would not have been possible.
“Gemma is very strong, starting a school in Tanzania without knowing where the money would come from, keeping faith that things would work out. I am so grateful to her. She is making an incredible impact on Tanzania,” Alex believes.
In Gemma’s book St Jude’s, published in 2005, she included a short passage about Alex.
“Alex is a gorgeous, hard-working boy, the youngest of many children. I know that things are often tight for him at home but his ambition when he grows up isn’t to try to make his own life more comfortable, but to work with orphans whom he sees as having an even harder life than his own.”
More than 10 years on, Gemma is seeing her dream for St Jude’s, realised through the same young boy she remembers playing on a swing set.
“It was a huge milestone for us when we found out Alex was becoming a sponsor. This is what we want to see: St Jude’s students feeling compelled to give back to their own community. I can’t wait to catch up with Alex again and tell him personally how happy and inspired I am by him,” Gemma said.
With a Stanford degree ahead of him, it’s just the beginning for our Alex, but already, he’s left an indelible mark on St Jude’s. He’s left a legacy which, we hope, many graduates will carry forward.
You, like Alex, can leave a legacy at St Jude’s. With our 2018 Appeal match until June 30, there’s never been a better time to fight poverty through education and sponsor or donate today.
Some quotes translated from Kiswahili
Janelle, Clorinda, Timuana and Octavia are uniquely bonded by their shared devotion to one of our 2018 graduates, Denis.
Janelle has sponsored Denis since his first day at St Jude’s in Standard 1. She, along with her two daughters, Timuana and Clorinda, travelled from Queensland, Australia, to be by his side as he finished secondary school.
Janelle and her husband, Peter, who passed away in 2016, were inspired to help fight poverty through education when they heard about St Jude’s through Rotary.
Janelle decided to pay tribute to her husband by attending Denis’ graduation and bringing her two daughters with her, so they could understand their parents’ passion for our cause.
Janelle and Denis shared an emotional reunion at Sisia Primary Campus on Monday May 21, having last seen each other in 2005, and later that day, he took them to visit his home and meet his guardian, Octavia.
At Form 6 Graduation on May 26, Octavia joined hands with Janelle, Clorinda and Timuana, in celebration of Denis’ achievements.
Several years ago, due to difficult circumstances in Denis’ home life, Octavia agreed to open her home to him, whilst he completed his education at St Jude’s.
“When I took in another son, I wanted him to feel secure and not lonely. Now, Denis has a family and I want him to succeed in his life. Denis has brought joy to us. He helps Alexander with his chores and I am so proud to see him graduate,” Octavia shared.
Octavia is a dedicated member of St Jude’s Parent Committee and has been a passionate advocate for St Jude’s in the local community since her son, Alexander, earned his academic scholarship in Standard 1, nearly 16 years ago.
Alexander graduated from Form 6 at St Jude’s in 2016. He completed his Beyond St Jude’s Community Service Year in 2017 as an intern in our Visitor team and is now studying his Bachelor in Economic Science and Communications, through Beyond St Jude’s Tertiary program, at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s top university.
“Without help from St Jude’s, I could not have afforded to give my son the same privilege he has now. I have other children to support and I would not have been able to afford to send Alexander to university,” Octavia said.
Janelle and her daughters were profoundly moved by Octavia’s generosity and passion for the School.
“Octavia is a beautiful person. This lady has given Denis the gift of a family home. Denis is a special young man — a young leader — and he is so grateful for the gift of an education. My husband Peter would have been proud to meet him as the wonderful young man he has become,” Janelle revealed.
After 13 years of sponsorship, she is passing the beacon of hope to Timuana, who has agreed to financially support Denis through his Beyond St Jude’s Community Service Year.
“I always knew this was a special cause, but being at St Jude’s and seeing the community impact first-hand has changed mine and Clorinda’s lives. There was no way I could walk away from this without giving something back, and Denis will always mean so much to our family.”
“Meeting his guardian, Octavia, was an amazing experience. This mother is so kind and genuine. She has taken in this young man and raised him as her own. She deserves to receive so much gratitude in her own right,” Timuana said.
Octavia, Janelle, Timuana and Clorinda may be separated by oceans, but they have joined hands to give an opportunity to one of Tanzania’s future moral and intellectual leaders.
Will you take someone’s hand too? Share their story and sponsor a student or make a donation during our 2018 Annual Appeal.
